Azure, Solairedirect Win Solar Licenses in India Auction

June 14 (Bloomberg) -- Azure Power India Pvt. and
Solairedirect SA were among winners of licenses to build a total
of 250 megawatts of solar power in India’s Punjab state.

The state sold 200 megawatts of contracts of 5 megawatts to
30 megawatts each to companies with experience in the industry,
Balour Singh, director at the state Punjab Energy Development
Agency, said today in a phone interview. It auctioned another 50
megawatts for projects of 1 megawatt to 4 megawatts, he said.

Eight companies won licenses for the larger projects. World
Bank-backed Azure Power submitted the lowest bids, pledging to
sell power from two sites of 15 megawatts each at 7,670 rupees
($133) a megawatt-hour and 7,970 rupees a megawatt-hour. Other
winners in the category were France’s Solairedirect, Welspun
Energy Ltd., Lanco Infratech Ltd. and Moser Baer India Ltd.

Nineteen companies won licenses for the smaller plants,
with bids ranging from 7,200 rupees a megawatt-hour to 8,710
rupees a megawatt-hour, Singh said.

Developers are free to choose any kind of photovoltaic
technology, including crystalline silicon or thin-film panels,
and won’t be subject to import curbs under the auction rules.

The winners have 13 months to complete the projects and
will sell their power under 25-year power purchase agreements
with the state utility, the regulations show.